Sham's Last Stand (Live)

This l979 live show recorded in Glasgow was ostensibly Sham 69’s final concert before singer Jimmy Pursey and bassist Dave Tregunna formed a punk rock supergroup (the extraordinarily short-lived Sham Pistols) with ex–Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook. In fact, Cook and Jones joined Sham onstage here for the Pistols’ “Pretty Vacant,” The Clash’s “White Riot” (the only recording of two Sex Pistols covering a Clash song), and Sham’s “If the Kids Are United” and “What Have We Got.” Elsewhere, Sham’s hits and near-misses rage, and every song is as confrontational-sounding as you’d expect from a band whose whole existence was based around pogo sloganeering and muscular riffage of the major-chord variety. Pursey’s earnest between-song rants resemble political rallying cries, which only heightens a sense of punk tension throughout, but it’s never joyless. The mad down-stroking guitarist Dave Parsons is absolutely on fire, and it’s also remarkable to hear just what an incredible live band Sham 69 had become.